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said. His parents never responded to the letters I sent them.
    He was smart enough to realize he was wasting his life and not smart enough—or strong enough—to change. Gabe had so much potential. That drives teachers crazy. We all hope we’re inspiring the next Curie or Einstein. We can hear the Nobel Prize acceptance speech: “I want to thank my teacher.…” I knew Gabe was special, and he liked that I knew that, and he hated it too. He hated me for pointing out the difference between who he could be and who he was.
    If I’d said that to him, he would’ve laughed in my face. He would’ve claimed he didn’t know what I meant.
    One night, not long ago, he came by my house, so drunk I didn’t know him, lost and raging. He told me to stop encouraging Jennie to go to college. He clearly feared that if she went, he’d lose her. I mentioned this and he called me a liar. Before he left, he said some awful things. I wouldn’t have recognized myself from his description.
    Now the principal, Dick Peterson, is telling the kids that Gabe would want us to carry on; that he’d want us to go back to class and work hard.
    A reporter from the Ukiah Daily Journal called me this morning. He was interviewing some of Gabe’s teachers. He asked if I thought Gabriel’s death was a suicide. A large percentage of teenage traffic fatalities are subconsciously intentional, the reporter confided.
    I told him Gabe’s death wasn’t a suicide; but who’s to say? If you asked Gabe, he’d deny it. It’s not like he took a gun and blew his brains out. It’s more like he turned his back on life and walked away. Some kids are like that. You can’t reach them, but there’s something about them that makes you keep trying. It’s like going after a drowning man who keeps swimming toward the horizon.

15
    Gabriel McCloud
    Guess who? That’s right yours truely with another thrilling story of life in the fast lane Starring SHADOW MAN!!!
    One thing about him he doesn’t have any family getting in his hair all the time. See he was rasied on this distant planet and then he came to Earth and left them all behind. The people who rasied him did it right they taut him what he needs to know to survive. When he was just a baby they taut him to be tough like when he was cold his mother carved him a coat of ice and said “Put this on and draw warmth from it and you’ll never have to fear the cold.” So he did. And when he was to hot because the sun was so close his father held him over a fire and said “Take the heat inside your bones and you’ll never be burned” and so he wasn’t. And when he was thirsty and wanted some milk his mother took a knife and cut Shadow Man’s wrist and said “Drink yourself and you’ll never be thirsty” or something like that and so he wasn’t. And when he was hungry and wanted some food his dad gave him a stone and said “Eat this it will sharpen your teeth and if you can eat stones you’ll never go hungry.” So he’s not exsactly your average guy but it gives him the strength to fight evil (live spelled backward.) Not that he goes around like Superman or something that guy is such a wimp.
    Nobody tells Shadow Man what to do he decides what to do and does it. He can read people’s minds and he knows what thier thinking and he helps a lot of people out of trouble.
    If I was Shadow Man I’d change a lot of things like the way people treat Manuel. Its not his falt he’s Mexican. That’s how he is. People make fun of him when he talks in class because he has that aksent but at least he’s trying. That’s more then some people. I told James to shut up and leave him alone and we got in a big fight. (Ya! I won!) It isn’t right what Manuel has to put up with then I think well he might as well get used to it that’s life. You either get tough or you